Vous Et Moi
by Angela On My Shoulder
Summary: Persistence can let you inside; sometimes in more ways than one. Takes place after Bury Your Dead. Tiva friendship more than anything.
1. Chapter 1

**Wooh! New fanfic! I'm working my way through the fourteen or so unfinished fanfics just sitting on my computer. Slowly getting there!**

**So this is Ziva comforting Tony after the whole Jeanne fiasco. Yeah, it's a little clichéd but we couldn't help ourselves.  
I don't think it's _entirely_ conventional Tiva. It very well could be, though. **

**Major thanks to Zakia as this is essentially her story. I just added words to surround her dialogue.**

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Ziva knocked firmly on the cream-coloured door of Tony's apartment, precariously balancing a cardboard pizza box in the palm of her left hand. The grease from the sausage and pepperoni pizza with extra cheese was slowly soaking through the base of the box, warming her hand and coating it with a fine film of oil.

"Tony!" She called through her partner's door.

Ziva waited a moment before preparing to yell again, but was stopped by the slow turning of the brass handle by her waist. She watched as the door creaked open to the maximum distance allowed by the chain attached to the interior.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked gruffly, his face appearing in the small gap between the door and its frame.

"I thought you might have wanted some company." She said with a hint of what most would call compassion – something not often heard in her voice.

"Not tonight, Ziva." He sighed, his tone softening drastically. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Tony stepped out of view and began to close the door behind him. His actions were ceased when Ziva wedged her foot into the small gap.

"I brought pizza." She said. "It's your favourite."

She retracted her foot and allowed her partner to close the door. Hopefully, she listened for the removal of the chain that was barring her full access into his home. As the door opened fully, she held the pizza out to him with both arms and small smile playing on her lips. Tony took the box from her and walked back towards his living room, leaving Ziva to close the door behind her as she entered.

**-NCIS-**

By the time she had turned around from locking the door, Tony had already thrown the pizza box down on the coffee table without so much as peeking at the contents. As he fell back onto the couch and resumed the movie that had been playing on his television, Ziva assessed the state of his apartment. She gazed around, her eyes taking in the bottle of Jack Daniels on the table directly in front of Tony, as well as his eyes unfocused and looking past the TV and the vacant look held on his face. She walked past her partner and into the kitchen that was, not too long ago, just as familiar as her own. Ziva reached into the cupboard above the sink and pulled down two large glasses. She filled them both with water under the faucet and headed back into the loungeroom. Placing them both down on the coffee table, she noticed that Tony's stare had shifted, and that he was now focused on the large glass whiskey bottle. Realising this, Ziva picked it up. Tony watched the whole time as she lowered it onto the carpet next to the couch and sat down. He paused the movie.

"You know, I was actually kinda liking being a film professor." Tony said with a feeble laugh, not facing his teammate.

"That may be true, but you and I both know that being an NCIS agent is far better." Ziva leant over to her partner and whispered the next sentence. "Teachers aren't allowed to shoot people." She said with a slight smile.

Tony ignored her attempt at humour.

"It wasn't supposed to end like this." He said.

"Was there any other way?" Ziva asked, quickly wiping away any trace of a smile upon her face.

She waited almost a minute for a response as Tony appeared to ponder and reminisce. When none was offered, she stood up and perched herself on the coffee table directly in front of him. She rested her hand on top of his, both of their hands now resting on his knee.

"What happened, Tony?" Ziva asked.

Tony sighed and hesitated before answering or even looking at her.

"It was just after Gibbs left for Mexico. The director had me go undercover. My mission was to 'get close to' La Grenouille's daughter so that she could then take him down." He said, constantly tearing himself away from Ziva's gaze.

"Jeanne Benoit." She said, seeking unnecessary confirmation of the name of The Frog's tadpole. Tony nodded. "At first it was just like any other assignment, better even. I got to hang out with a hot doctor, what more could a guy want?" He tried to crack a smile. "But all of that changed as my cover got deeper. As I got closer to Jeanne..."

"You fell in love with her for real." Ziva filled in for him when he trailed off.

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**Apologies for the choppy ending. It would just be way too long otherwise.**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Mmm. Tiva.**

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Tony looked up at his partner and his eyes locked with hers. They remained that way until he turned away; Ziva kept staring.

"I saw she wasn't just a hot doctor, Ziva. She was... she was beautiful, and smart, and funny and caring." Tony reached forwards towards Ziva and picked up the glass of water from beside her leg. "Honest." He took a sip. "I should have stopped myself. I failed as an agent. "

"You cannot help who you fall in love with, Tony. Even with your... superior agent skills." Ziva was playfully hesitant when defining her partner's abilities.

Tony ignored her flattery as he returned to her gaze.

"Well, why the hell not? You can control practically everything else in your life! What you eat, where you live, where you work, who your friends are! Tell me, Ziva, why _the hell_ can't you control who you fall in love with!"

Ziva ignored the severity of Tony's outburst and thought to herself for a moment.

"I do not know." She said honestly.

"She wanted to take our relationship 'further'." Tony said, suddenly calming.

"She wanted to get you into bed with her?" Ziva asked.

"We were already in the bed. She wanted to... Well, you know."

"You had not already?" Ziva could not help but express her surprise; she knew full well the playboy antics of her colleague.

"Weird, huh?" Tony said with the slightest of smirks. "I mean, it's not like I could have jumped into it the moment I was assigned, but since when would that have stopped me? I guess... I didn't want Jeanne to just be another one of my one night stands. I didn't want to rush into anything."

"She changed you." Ziva replied thoughtfully. "It was a good change. We all noticed it. You were more caring, sympathetic, and maybe even a little mature." She added with a smile, noticing Tony's stunned expression.

He finally cracked a genuine smile, albeit a small one.

"And believe it or not, Ziva, I liked that person I was pretending to be. I dunno. Maybe love messes with your head and subconsciously makes you a better person or something. Or maybe you're trying so hard not to screw up and hurt the person you care for, that you push out all the bad things. I don't know, Ducky's the one with the psychology degree." Tony ran his hand through his hair. "But what I do know for a fact is that it hurts like nothing when it all falls apart. Frankly, it just sucks." Ziva opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself before Tony noticed. "And you wanna know what the suckiest bit is? I knew that how Jeanne felt towards me was real. I broke her heart. And even worse, I betrayed her trust."

"You were doing your job, Tony – following orders. No one can blame you for that. You could not help hurting her." Ziva said comfortingly.

She watched as Tony kept his eyes trained on his lap.

"I told her that I loved her." He said so quietly that he could barely be heard. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Tony..." Ziva said, her voice too, only just above a whisper.

"It was after Paula... Agent Cassidy died." Tony cut her off. "When I left work that day, I went straight to Jeanne's apartment. I knocked on her door and said those three words. Because life's too short not to tell someone you love them." His voice dropped as he uttered the last sentence.

**-NCIS-**

Ziva watched in silence as her unblinking partner silently broke down. She could not help but feel a sense of honour as the emotions Tony always hid with humour were released in her presence. She leant forwards towards him, supporting herself by resting her forearms on her knees. Interlacing her hands, she looked up at Tony sympathetically.

"Listen, Tony." She said to her partner quietly. "I am not going to tell you what to do, or what is best – I cannot do that." Ziva paused as she pondered her next sentence. "I know what Jeanne meant to you, and I know how much pain you are in right now. But I also know that this is just a hole in the road." Tony's eyes were still damp, but she could see the corners of his mouth turn up faintly. "What?" She asked.

"The term is dip, Ziva. It's a dip in the road." He said with a slight chuckle.

"See! You would miss correcting me if you chose Jeanne over NCIS!" Ziva replied with a slightly overenthusiastic grin.

As soon as she spoke those words, the smile immediately disappeared from Tony's face. Noticing what she had said, Ziva hastily apologised.

"I am sorry, Tony. I did not mean..."

"It's okay. I know what you meant." He cut her off.

Ziva took a hold of Tony's hand and held it loosely in her own as she gave him an apologetic smile.

"As I was saying, this is just another hurdle that you have to overcome. I already told you that you are a good person; that was an understatement. What I meant to say is that you are _the most_ caring, trustworthy, loving and honest man I know, Tony. There will be another special woman that will come along, and it is their loss if they have no interest in you. All I know is that moving on is your best option."

Ziva reached around herself and pulled a tissue from the box on the table behind her. She handed it to Tony and he accepted, slipping his hand from hers to grab it. The tears had stopped falling several minutes ago, but he was more than eager to wipe away all evidence of his break.

"You're right, Ziva, I know that. It's just that, at the moment, it's hard to imagine anything but being with Jeanne." He said, dabbing at his eyes.

"It will take time, Tony; there is no point in denying that. But I will be there if you ever need me. I will _always_ be there. Just remember that if you ever want to talk."

Tony pulled the tissue away from his face and smiled at Ziva. She returned the gesture and stood up.

"It is getting late. I should probably be going home." She said.

"You sure you don't want to stay a little longer and watch a movie or something?" Tony asked hopefully as he joined her in standing. "It's only eleven o'clock. We don't need to be up for another six hours." He said with a smirk. "You like cold pizza, yeah?"

Ziva's smile grew as she saw the humour begin to return to her partner.

"I'll make some popcorn." She said as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Ziva?" Tony said after a moment. "Hold up a sec." Ziva turned around. He beckoned for her to come to him. "Thanks." He said, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Ziva looked up at her partner for a moment before walking back into the kitchen.

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**Well that was fluffier than I thought.**

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	3. Chapter 3

Ziva threw a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth as she returned to the loungeroom with a large bowl filled with the white fluffy snack. Tony moved the pizza box, which's now cold contents had finally began to slowly disappear, and Ziva sat down next to him.

"Popcorn?" She asked, extending the bowl out to him. He took a large handful, several pieces falling from his grasp as Ziva placed the bowl on the coffee table. "What movie is on the menu tonight?" She asked with a smile.

"I was thinking Young Frankenstein." Tony was answered with a blank stare. "Oh, come on! Mel Brooks' 1974 classic! You know, with Gene Wilder as Frankenstein and Peter Boyle as the monster? I reckon you'd like it. It's pretty funny." He said as he began looking for the movie in his large tower of DVDs.

"Frankenstein is a comedy now?" Ziva asked.

"It's not Frankenstein Frankenstein, it's Young Frankenstein. Frankenstein's grandson! Just watch and see. Ah ha!" Tony exclaimed as he found the case.

He placed the disk in the DVD player and picked up the remote before returning to the couch to take his place next to his partner. Upon sitting down, he noticed Ziva cross her arms and tuck her legs up underneath her.

"You cold?" Tony asked.

"Just a little. I was not planning on being out so late."

"Hold on a sec, I'll grab some blankets." Tony stood up and paused the movie before disappearing down the hallway.

Ziva awaited his return a few minutes later and smiled as she saw the patterns on the large, fuzzy polar fleece blankets he carried in each arm.

"Pick an animal." Tony grinned.

"I think I will take..." She thought for a moment. "That one." She pointed at the one with the cheetah pattern.

Tony threw her the blanket, keeping the zebra print one for himself. He sat back on the couch and they both got comfortable under their individual blankets. After a few moments, Tony groaned.

"What is it?" Ziva asked, pulling the blanket up under her chin.

"I gotta pull my arm out to get the remote." He pouted. "It's times like this where I regret not buying a Snuggie."

"Trust me," Ziva smiled, "These blankets are much more... wild."

Tony dramatically took in a deep breath and stuck his arm out from the warmth. With lightning speed, he leant forward and grabbed the remote from where he had left it sitting on the coffee table, along with the popcorn. He pressed the play button and hurriedly retracted his hand back under the covers.

**-NCIS-**

Ziva stirred, but her eyes remained closed. As she awoke, she suddenly became aware of the loud music in her surroundings and, as a result, opened her eyes in shock. Momentarily startled by the harsh light and the horror-esque castle depicted in black and white on the TV screen, Ziva took a few moments to register exactly where she was. A loud snore coming from the left alerted her to her partner asleep next to her. She watched with a small smile as Tony unconsciously pulled his blanket towards him and curled up further into a ball. Ziva stood up from the couch and shivered slightly as the blanket fell off her. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was well into the early hours of the following morning. Stealthily walking over to the television, she ejected the DVD from the player and put it back in its case. She turned everything off and made her way towards the front of his apartment. Ziva looked back at Tony and smiled to herself at how innocent and childlike he seemed as she softly closed the door behind her.

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